COLUMBIA, MD — A caregiver has been arrested after Howard County Police say she left a nonverbal man with autism inside a work van in the Symphony Woods garage with the child lock on.
The incident happened July 23 when outside temperatures were in the high 80s. The man's father, Bill Shafley, told WMAR that the work van had been parked facing the sun and temperatures inside the vehicle could've neared triple digits that day.
Police arrested the caregiver, identified as Kymorea Lee Sanders, 26, and on Monday, a judge granted bail at $10,000. According to charging documents, Sanders worked as a caregiver for Richcroft, Inc. when she left her client, Will, 31, in the vehicle. Shafley told WMAR that Will's mental age is closer to that of a 6-year-old.
According to police, firefighters nearby had heard an alarm coming from the work vehicle and that's the only reason why they found Will. WMAR shared that Sanders ate lunch with a fellow coworker and her client while Will was in the vehicle. She was gone for almost an hour, charging documents stated.
"Only by chance was my son found," Shafley said. "We can't rely on chance to keep our loved ones safe."
Although Will didn't sustain any physical injuries during the incident, he appears to have some lingering trauma.
"When we were coming close [to the garage] he was already starting to get very nervous," Shafley told WMAR. "In fact, the next day after that, they needed to take him to a doctor's appointment and it was the same van in the driveway.
They went to take him out, and he started screaming: 'No, no no!"
According to charging documents, Sanders was "extremely uncooperative" with authorities at the scene, making excuses and refusing to answer questions.
Sanders now faces charges of vulnerable adult abuse and reckless endangerment.
Read more at WMAR
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